Apple Intelligence now features Image Playground, Genmoji, Writing Tools enhancements, seamless support for ChatGPT, and visual intelligence.

Apple Intelligence has also begun language expansion with localized English support for Australia, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, South Africa, and the U.K. Learn more >

You can make a difference in the Apple Support Community!

When you sign up with your Apple Account, you can provide valuable feedback to other community members by upvoting helpful replies and User Tips.

Looks like no one’s replied in a while. To start the conversation again, simply ask a new question.

Deleting photos on Phone, NOT iCloud.

Hello!


Im looking for answers Google can`t provide, as far as I´ve looked.


I want to free up space on my iPhone 12, so I started deleting photos and videos, and discovered that it´s deleted from the iCloud-storage as well.


I want to be able to delete photos and videos from my phone, but still keep them in icloud, but also as I take a new photo or video, it is automatically uploaded to the iCloud without have to turn it on/off.


Is this possible in 2023?


//

iPhone 12, iOS 16

Posted on Jul 13, 2023 10:20 AM

Reply
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jul 13, 2023 10:25 AM

Not possible. iCloud Photos is a syncing service to create exact copies of the photos on all devices. It is not a storage service to back up files without having them on your device.

4 replies

Sep 28, 2023 8:00 AM in response to Julzal

You can save your photos in any folder on your computer and they will not be deleted if you delete them from your iPhone.


The photos that are stored in iCloud sync only with the Photos app on your iPhone and the Photos app on your computer. When deleting in any one of those 3 locations, the photos will also be deleted in the other 2 locations. Photos saved in any other location than the Photos app will not be deleted.

Deleting photos on Phone, NOT iCloud.

Welcome to Apple Support Community
A forum where Apple customers help each other with their products. Get started with your Apple Account.